New Zealand to Become a 'Smoke-Free Nation'... No Tobacco Sales to Those Born After 2008

Bill Announcing the Prohibition of Tobacco Sales Starting in 2027

New Zealand announced that it will make the sale of tobacco illegal starting in 2027. Photo by Pixabay.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] New Zealand has decided to enact a bill that prohibits those born after 2008 from purchasing cigarettes even when they become adults, in order to prevent the next generation from smoking.

According to foreign media including the British BBC on the 9th (local time), the New Zealand government announced a bill to make cigarette sales illegal from 2027 as part of the 'Smoke Free 2025' plan, permanently preventing youths currently under 14 years old from buying cigarettes. If this bill is implemented, those born after 2008 will never be legally allowed to purchase cigarettes even as adults.

Aisha Berel, Deputy Minister of Health of New Zealand, said, "Today is a historic day for public health" and added, "We will define selling or supplying cigarettes to young people as an illegal act to ensure they do not smoke at all."

According to reports, the New Zealand government aims to legislate the bill by the end of next year and plans to submit the bill to parliament in June next year. If the law passes, New Zealand will become the country with the strictest tobacco regulations in the world after Bhutan. Bhutan, located in South Asia, was the first country in the world to completely ban cigarette sales in 2005.

Previously, the New Zealand government aimed to reduce the national smoking rate to 5% by 2025 and ultimately achieve a 0% smoking rate.

The current smoking rate among New Zealand adults is about 13%. However, the smoking rate among the indigenous Maori population, which has relatively high disease and mortality rates, remains high at about 31%.

Regarding this, Deputy Minister Berel said, "If nothing changes, it will take decades for the Maori smoking rate to fall below 5%."

Local doctors and other health experts have welcomed New Zealand's bill as the "world's best reform."

Professor Janet Hook of the University of Otago said, "If the bill passes, it will help with smoking cessation," adding, "Especially, the likelihood of young people becoming addicted to nicotine will be greatly reduced."